Dakar, Senegal: Smallholder farmers in Senegal’s vital Groundnut Basin have received a significant boost with a US$7 million grant from the European Union. The funding, channeled through the National Fund for Agro-Sylvo-Pastoral Development (FNDASP) and the Belgian Development Agency (Enabel), aims to enhance the production of key food crops over the next three years, bolstering food security in the region.
The ambitious project will target 48,000 farmers across the Fatick, Kaolack, Kaffrine, and Tambacounda regions, organized into 35 umbrella cooperatives and 750 grassroots groups. The focus will be on improving yields of essential staples such as rice, sorghum, millet, maize, and cowpeas.
According to Abou El Mahassine Fassi-Fihri, Enabel’s country director, the program will take a multi-pronged approach. This includes the crucial provision of certified seeds to ensure higher quality harvests, improved access to financial resources for farmers to invest in their operations, and a forward-thinking collaboration with the National Agency for Civil Aviation and Meteorology (ANACIM) to provide more accurate and timely weather forecasts – a vital tool for agricultural planning in a region susceptible to climate variations.
“This is a project that aims to strengthen producers, production and improve agricultural yield to contribute to food security,” stated Fassi-Fihri. “The idea is also to put producers and processors in touch, to recover organic waste, as well as to employ women working in the agricultural sector.” This holistic approach underscores the EU’s commitment to sustainable and inclusive agricultural development in Senegal.
The targeted regions are significant contributors to Senegal’s overall cereal production. Data from the National Agency for Statistics and Demography (ANSD) reveals that in the 2023/2024 agricultural season, these four areas produced a substantial 1.54 million tonnes of cereals, representing 38% of the nation’s total output of 4 million tonnes. The EU funding is therefore strategically directed at a key agricultural heartland.
In a parallel development that will likely be welcomed by farmers and traders alike, the Senegalese government has partially lifted its ban on peanut exports. The Ministry of Agriculture announced that exports would be permitted between March 25th and June 15th.
The export ban, which had been in place since October 2024, was initially enforced to ensure that local oil processing mills had a sufficient supply of groundnuts for their operations. However, authorities have now deemed local groundnut collection to be at a satisfactory level, paving the way for a resumption of international trade.
Babacar Fall, president of the National Company for the Marketing of Oilseeds (Sonacos), confirmed that his company had already collected a significant 180,000 tons of groundnuts, representing 60% of its annual target of 300,000 tons. This positive collection figure has seemingly provided the government with the confidence to ease export restrictions.
The government’s decision reflects a delicate balancing act between supporting local processing industries and capitalizing on international trade opportunities. In 2024, prior to the export ban, Senegal’s groundnut exports reached an impressive 121,798 tons, generating US$107 million in revenue for the nation. The partial lifting of the ban will provide a window for farmers and exporters to tap into global markets once again, potentially boosting their incomes and contributing to the national economy.
These two developments – the significant EU investment in food crop production and the partial resumption of peanut exports – paint a picture of a Senegalese agricultural sector striving for both self-sufficiency and international competitiveness, with a clear focus on empowering its smallholder farmers.
